Analysis of cDNA sequences from mouse testis.

Few mammalian proteins involved in chromosome structure and function during meiosis have been characterized. As an approach to identify such proteins, cDNA clones expressed in mouse testis were analyzed by sequencing and Northern blotting. Various cDNA library screening methods were used to obtain the clones. First, hybridization with cDNA from testis or brain allowed selection of either negative or differentially expressed plaques. Second, positive plaques were identified by screening with polyclonal antisera to prepubertal testis nuclear proteins. Most clones were selected by negative hybridization to correspond to a low abundance class of mRNAs. A PCR-based solid-phase DNA sequencing protocol was used to rapidly obtain 306 single-pass cDNA sequences totaling more than 104 kb. Comparison with nucleic acid and protein databases showed that 56% of the clones have no significant match to any previously identified sequence. Northern blots indicate that many of these novel clones are testis-enriched in their expression. Further evidence that the screening strategies were appropriate is that a high proportion of the clones which do have a match encode testis-enriched or meiosis-specific genes, including the mouse homolog of a rat gene that encodes a synaptonemal complex protein.